Light of the World

My parish is currently holding its annual seven days of prayer prior to Christmas. As my pastor wrote in our bulletin last week,

Beginning with December 17, the Church proclaims daily one of the significant events that happened immediately before the birth of Christ. Each of these stories such as the Annunciation or the Visitation help to prepare us for the great celebration of the Mystery of the Incarnation. In liturgy of Evening Prayer for these days, the Church also reflects on one of seven titles from the Hebrew Scriptures given to the Messiah. Those titles have come to be known as the O-Antiphons.

The evening begins beautifully with prayer and song. The presider lights a small candle from the Paschal candle, then he in turn lights another individual's candle, who lights another's and so on until all candles are shining brightly.

Since everyone's candles are lit from the flame on the Paschal candle, I can't help but think of the symbolism of Jesus Christ being the light of the world and how each of us carries that light with us. Not only do we carry it with us, but even though sometimes that light may be hard to see, we can still feel its warmth.